


A Day in the life of the former fallen Elder God

by NevaRYadL



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Mentioned Character Death, Mentioned Poor Physical Health, Mentioned poor mental health, Nonbinary Raiden, Nonbinary Shinnok, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 08:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22189192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NevaRYadL/pseuds/NevaRYadL
Summary: A day in Shinnok's current life, freed from the corruption of the One Being and healing day by day
Relationships: Raiden/Shinnok (Mortal Kombat)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	A Day in the life of the former fallen Elder God

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: Raiden/Shinnok, nb/nb fluff, domestic fluff, mentioned poor mental and physical health
> 
> B-day present for judgmentfist + combo rambling a bit more about my fix-it au

“Do you feel up for some walking today, my love?”

_A little, yes. I will try to levitate some too._

Shinnok’s day started with Raiden rising from bed and usually promptly startling him from a deep sleep. One did not simply sleep like the dead while curled around Raiden; felt as comforted, warm and safe as Shinnok did while sleeping next to Raiden, without keenly feeling the loss when he moved to rise. 

But even when Raiden rose, Shinnok would usually continue laying in bed, usually idly watching Raiden preparing himself for the day. He was still rather weak, still in recovery, he would claim it would to be to preserve his thin strength. Mostly though he loved watching Raiden do something so achingly normal and domestic as getting ready for the day. Brushing his hair out, carefully layering his outfit on, meditating and doing his morning stretches. So normal for such an extra-normal person such as Raiden.

When Raiden was ready for the day, he came back to the bed. First to lean down to kiss Shinnok’s forehead, fill his cool body with warm, and then let Shinnok grab onto Raiden’s arms so that Raiden could gently tug him up sitting. Feeling the pull of weak muscles and weak bones, feeling the heated and dull pain of overworking his weak and underused body. But it was tolerable pain, a good pain, it meant that his spine was healed and all the nerves were connected and working again. In the beginning of his recovery he had felt dull cold numbness and it had been torture. This? This was good.

When he was sitting up, Raiden let him adjust his grip on the thunder god’s arms and then gently stepped back to help give Shinnok momentum to rock himself forward and then… stand on his own two feet.

It was such a marvel sensation. Walking, standing, sitting up, moving under his own power. He had been doing it for a few weeks now, in short bursts to prevent overstressing healing joints. For almost a year, Shinnok had been bedridden, unable to move for most of it, barely able to move the later half, and being able to slowly but surely regain his mobility within the past two months. One did not know how for granted one too movement until it was taken away. And despite the pains and aches that walking had been leaving him, Shinnok was so extraordinarily happy to be walking again.

“Careful now,” Raiden said quietly, moving to slip an arm around Shinnok’s waist and letting Shinnok clutch at his arm.

A few laps around the bedroom with hobbling, stuttering steps. It seemed like such a trivial task, such a silly and pathetic thing. But Shinnok’s legs still burned from it, his knees and hips ached, the soles of his feet felt mildly agitated as though he had been standing for several hours after only a few circuits around the small room. But it was a strangely amazing thing, the pain of working his legs and feet and walking. He had missed walking so much, so glad to take it back.

“You are in pain, we will stop,” Raiden said, stopping them, using the arm around Shinnok’s waist to pull him onto Raiden’s feet and hold Shinnok against him, easing most of the weight off Shinnok’s feet.

 _A little, but nothing that is causing me distress,_ Shinnok reached up and cupped Raiden’s face, running a thumb along Raiden’s temples, brow, cheeks, wherever he could reach and touch. _The small pain means that I can feel again, that I am walking and moving again, that I am healing. That I am alive._

“...Still, we do not want to cause accidental harm,” Raiden said softly, soothed by Shinnok’s words and touch.

_You’re fretting is adorable._

Raiden huffed. Shinnok soothed it over with a kiss to Raiden’s nose.

_What did you plan on doing today?_

“I was going to look into the Cage family tree. If we can find more fighters with the same strange ability, they would make wonderful additions to Earthrealm’s defense.”

_More Cages? Would we survive?_

Raiden laughed and Shinnok smiled at the wonderful sound, the wonderful sight of Raiden’s laughing face.

_Allow me to levitate after you. I will be off my feet for awhile._

“You will tell me if you need to go back to bed?”

_Like every time, dearest on._

While Shinnok’s body had suffered from his beheading, his powers had not been too hampered by it and while his body and mind were still healing, his powers did not need much to return to the levels that they had been before his corruption. He found that he could easily levitate once his body was healed of the worst of his injuries, and thus, could levitate after Raiden as he went to look to the White Lotus’ extensive library.

While Raiden went through the records section, Shinnok went to look for several books to read, memorizing where they were taken so that he could put them back later, and then making his way to the chair that Raiden had specifically gotten for him and settling into it. When Raiden had gotten the records that he needed, he took them to the table nearby his chair and the two went about reading their materials in comfortable silence.

Comfortable. It was something that Shinnok lightly scolded himself for being continuously surprised about, but everything that he did with Raiden always seemed… comfortable. Safe. He liked to attribute that his continued surprise at the novel sensations of being safe and comfortable to both being on edge for so many years because he was at war with the world at the behest of The One Being and that he seemed very much a different person when the corruption had been cleansed from his mind. And while some people would describe him as ‘still a rather dick-ish member of the royal ‘pain in the ass’ royalty’, it was almost surprising how tolerable he found himself in his own eyes.

How delightfully odd.

After about an hour or so and about twelve books read, Shinnok took a moment to carefully roll his neck. Carefully, as there was still some terror about the wound reopening with any sort of aggressive moment, try to work some of the stiffness out of his neck.

_Find anything, my love?_

“Nothing of note. Branching out and forgetting the power has cut off many branches of potential fighters. Also a number of these people, if I am cross referencing Johnny’s files of his family correct, are untrained civilians.”

_Well… there is peace, for the moment. You have the time to look._

“True… shall we take a break? I could use some tea.”

 _I would like a cup of the coffee that the children bought for me. I quite enjoy it, strangely._ Shinnok rose, reaching out to take Raiden’s offered arm.

“How you enjoy coffee but not tea…” Raiden said.

_You can put sugar and cream into coffee and it comes in sweeter blends. Almost all tea blends are bitter and you can only really put some milk or sugar into it._

Raiden chuckled softly.

In the kitchen, despite the improperness of it, due to the lack of chairs Shinnok lighty perched himself on a clear bit of counter while he watched Raiden make himself a pot of tea.

“I am glad that they are trying to get along with you. If only out of some weird stubbornness,” Raiden said as he took out the non electric coffee pot to make Shinnok his cup of coffee. 

When they had mentioned buying him a coffee pot, upon finding out that he quite liked the drink, Shinnok almost expected an electric one out of some odd prank considering that the only electricity in Skyhold was within Raiden. Both he and Raiden was rather surprised at it being non electric, more at the forethought than anything else. 

_Indeed. In fact, young Cassandra has started to send me emails with downloads of books for that tablet she got me. They all have the subject line of ‘bastard’ but still._

“Cassandra,” Raiden sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

 _No, no, she is quite alright,_ Shinnok thought with a chuckle, reaching over to gently drag his knuckles down the length of Raiden’s face. _I do not expect forgiveness anytime soon. I will earn it in time. Besides, those emails usually come with almost two hundred us dollars worth of books, so I find it hard to be mad for long…_

Raiden sighed but there was a slight upward crooking of his lips that had Shinnok smiling as well.

Drinks ready, they returned to the library and continued their reading.

“I do hope that your days are not so mind breakingly boring,” Raiden said after a while.

“My dear, after the hell we’ve endured the past few years? These days are bliss and I would not trade them for the world.”

Raiden jolted. He rarely spoke to give his throat and neck as much leeway to heal as possible. He smiled and gave Raiden a chuckle as he gathered himself again. When he did, Raiden gave him a pout. So, setting his book aside, Shinnok floated over to Raiden and gave his cute nose a kiss.

These domestic days were bliss.


End file.
